Posted by: Amanda Watkin in Untagged on
May 15, 2008
Time to go home... Mixed emotions as we've had such an experience and Seoul is an amazing city, but four weeks is a long time to be away from family and friends.
This week has been 'full on', with a packed itinerary of cultural and vocational opportunities. We have all experienced new and exciting things this week, including a trip to the theatre to see 'Jump' a martial arts comedy which was highly entertaining and filled with loud music and acrobatic moves - fantastic!
Last night we attended
Posted by: Paula Jenkins in Untagged on
May 13, 2008
Well what a day! I am sitting in a somewhat seedy internet cafe surrounded by Korean gaming nerds. The only thing on their mind is the screen and game, so I am, in truth, as safe as anywhere in here! Amanda has run off with her laptop and is at a homestay and I am home alone at the Seoul Residence so I had to come here to communicate with the uk.
Well we had another Rotary club meeting today in a posh hotel. I was reminded of some of the Korean habits while musing over another meal at the
Posted by: Paula Jenkins in Untagged on
May 12, 2008
Here we are again, at the end of a busy day, one day closer to home and yet each day bringing a new adventure which reveals another dimension of life in Korea. Today was Buddhas birthday. We spent time at a temple where families pay homage to the great Buddha through ceremony and offering. But what birthday celebrating larks tonight! It is also the great Amandas birthday, and we have just returned from a session in a private Karaoke bar, korean style! Never seen anything like it in the uk!
Posted by: Amanda Watkin in Untagged on
May 12, 2008
Oh what a night! I suppose I should start with the day really, but having just returned from my 'Birthday' Party it's difficult to maintain chronological order!
OK, I'll try to stick to the order of events! Today, 12th May, is Buddha's birthday - it also happens to be mine, what a coincidence! So, hosted by Mr Hahm and his family, the team and I visited a Buddhist Temple in the country. This particular temple holds history on Mr. Hahm's family dating back hundreds of years. It was a truely
Posted by: Callum Jones in Untagged on
May 11, 2008
The other members of the team have already written entries about our visit to the DMZ but here is my take it on it....
'Ladies and gentlemen...no pointing, no pictures, no waving, listen to what I say, no pictures, soldiers shoot you...'
At least thats what I thought my tour guide said as I have not heard such a strange English accent since Lou Bega sang about 'Sandra, Jessica and Rita' in Mambo No.5.
I always knew travelling to the border between North Korea and South Korea would be a slightly
Posted by: Paula Jenkins in Untagged on
May 11, 2008
Well here we are almost time to go home. As I type, Amanda is re sorting her luggage despairingly I sense, we have much to bring home and not a lot of luggage allowance. I am mentally packing some fond and funny memories. We have had such an amazing time here. But I am missing green England big time now.
So what have i been doing? We Rotary Conference confirmed that Korean Rotary women dress to the nines at every opportunity. I sat there not understanding much but feeling very bedraggled in my
Posted by: Amanda Watkin in Rotary, People, Korea, Food on
May 10, 2008
Well, having recovered from our experiences at the DMZ (Demilitarised Zone) on Thursday, Friday and Saturday have brought us the joys of District 3640 Conference. The conference was held inside the district at the Intercontinental Hotel, Seoul.
Friday began by visiting Hansung for some last minute presentation 'practice'. You just don't know how difficult it is to translate for someone who doesn't present from a script - poor Hansung, he really did have to fine tune his English/Korean language
Posted by: Amanda Watkin in Korea on
May 08, 2008
Our visit to the border between North and South Korea has been one of the most sobering events of this four week adventure. We all happily made our way with the every ready Mr Nam to the tour pick up point, without really giving consideration to exctly what we were about to do and see.
We needed our passports just to be allowed to take part in the tour - this is the only day that we haven't been accompanied/hosted by our South Korean friends; they were not ALLOWED on this trip.
Our tour bus
Posted by: Elmi Du Toit in Untagged on
May 08, 2008
We met our tour at the Lotte Hotel at 9h50 this morning ( Thursday). Today was also Parents' Day in South Korea, an opportunity for children to express their love, respect and gratitude towards their parents by giving them carnations...?! For us however, the day was focussed on getting a first hand experience of the turmoil that still exists because of the North-South divide.
The DMZ or demilitarised zone is only 1,5 hours drive north of Seoul. It's amazing to think that while Seoul is
Posted by: Amanda Watkin in Rotary, People, Korea, Food on
May 07, 2008
Wednesday has turned out to be a great day - our itinerary showed a day of vocational experience and that was just what we have been given. I for one received a fantastic opportunity in spending time at KMA (the Korea Management Association). A full presentation of the groups specific offerings followed by a tour of the four sites and a good exchange of thoughts and ideas surrounding leadership development. You'd think that would be enough, but no I was led into a one to one meeting with the
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